Tim Hortons Workers File Double-Double BC Rights Complaint

Four temporary workers from Mexico who worked at Tim Hortons in northern B.C. have launched a human rights complaint against their employer.

The workers were each asked to pay $200 for rent at the beginning of the month, then an additional $200 in the middle of the month which their employer, Tony Van Den Bosch, referred to as a tip, alleges the complaint.

They were bunked two to a room in a five-bedroom house.

"When Tim Hortons advertises the double double, I don’t believe this is what most Canadians had in mind," said Eugene Kung, a lawyer with the BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre, which helped file the complaint.

In total the employer received $4,000 a month in rent from each of two separate homes where he required his employees to live, said Kung.

In addition to overcharging workers for rent, the complaint alleges that the workers were subjected to derogatory racist comments including "[expletive] Mexican workers are lazy" and "Mexican idiots," while the employer described himself as the "owner of their lives."

If the workers raised any concerns about their working or living conditions, they were threatened with being sent back to Mexico, said the lawyer. Van Den Bosch, who owns two franchises, also regularly held the workers’ passports for periods of time, Kung alleged.

Two of the workers were fired after they complained about the conditions, and the others were "forced to leave for fear of reprisals," said a news release.

Jim Sinclar, president of the B.C. Federation of Labour, called the case "another indictment of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program."

Complaints have also been filed with the B.C. Ministry of Labour regarding breaches of the Employment Standards Act.

When Timmies launched Roll Up The Rim in 1986 as a "thank-you" to customers, the largest prize was a snack box of Timbits. Needless to say, the contest has grown in scope since then.
Photo: Flickr/Calgary Reviews

If you live on Prince Edward Island, your chances of winning a Roll Up The Rim prize are considerably better than if you live in Ontario. That's because Tim Hortons spreads prizes across the country according to geography, not population density. "If it was all equalized, some places like P.E.I. or New Brunswick might not get one at all," a Timmies rep said. "This is just about trying to create some excitement."
Photo: Flickr/n_wilsey

Until last year, Timmies' famous promotion extended to its location in Afghanistan, which the company set up to serve Canadian soldiers. The Afghan version of the promo featured its own set of prizes, but Tim Hortons' presence in Agfhanistan has come to a close with Canada's reduced role in the war.
Photo: Canadian troops in Kandahar, Afghanistan line up for donuts and coffee at Tim Hortons, Thursday Jun 29, 2006. (CP PHOTO/ John Cotter)

According to a study commissioned by Tim Hortons, only 56 per cent of Canadians can roll their r's like the Timmies commercials show. Only one in five can hold a rolled 'r' for more than 15 seconds, and men appear to be better at it than women.
(Alamy photo)

As one of the country's longest-running promotions, Roll Up the Rim has handed out some 387 million prizes since its launch. Says Bill Moir,Tim Hortons' chief brand and marketing officer: "Roll Up the Rim to Win is not only an important part of Tim Hortons' history, it has become an annual Canadian tradition."
Photo: Tim Hortons President and CEO Donald B. Schroeder speaks at the company's AGM in Toronto on May 13, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn